US10292187B2 - Wireless communication apparatus, server, payment apparatus, wireless communication method, and program - Google Patents

Wireless communication apparatus, server, payment apparatus, wireless communication method, and program Download PDF

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Publication number
US10292187B2
US10292187B2 US15/505,139 US201515505139A US10292187B2 US 10292187 B2 US10292187 B2 US 10292187B2 US 201515505139 A US201515505139 A US 201515505139A US 10292187 B2 US10292187 B2 US 10292187B2
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Prior art keywords
wireless communication
pairing
terminal
information
wireless
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US15/505,139
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US20170257895A1 (en
Inventor
Daisuke Kawakami
Hideyuki Suzuki
Katsutoshi Itoh
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Sony Corp
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Sony Corp
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W76/00—Connection management
    • H04W76/10—Connection setup
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L63/00—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security
    • H04L63/04—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
    • H04L63/0428—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
    • H04L63/0492—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L63/00—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security
    • H04L63/10—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security for controlling access to devices or network resources
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M11/00—Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W12/00—Security arrangements; Authentication; Protecting privacy or anonymity
    • H04W12/04—Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W12/00—Security arrangements; Authentication; Protecting privacy or anonymity
    • H04W12/06—Authentication
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W12/00—Security arrangements; Authentication; Protecting privacy or anonymity
    • H04W12/08—Access security
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W12/00—Security arrangements; Authentication; Protecting privacy or anonymity
    • H04W12/50—Secure pairing of devices
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W48/00—Access restriction; Network selection; Access point selection
    • H04W48/08—Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W8/00—Network data management
    • H04W8/22—Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W84/00—Network topologies
    • H04W84/02—Hierarchically pre-organised networks, e.g. paging networks, cellular networks, WLAN [Wireless Local Area Network] or WLL [Wireless Local Loop]
    • H04W84/10—Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks
    • H04W84/12—WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L63/00—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security
    • H04L63/18—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security using different networks or channels, e.g. using out of band channels
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W88/00—Devices specially adapted for wireless communication networks, e.g. terminals, base stations or access point devices
    • H04W88/02—Terminal devices
    • H04W88/04—Terminal devices adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Definitions

  • the present technology relates to a wireless communication apparatus, a server, a payment apparatus, a wireless communication method, and a program.
  • WLAN wireless local area network
  • Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for enabling a communication terminal, which indirectly communicates with a service providing apparatus that provides a service via another communication terminal, to seamlessly receive the service provided at the service providing apparatus.
  • Patent Literature 1 JP 2009-253752A
  • the present disclosure proposes a new and improved wireless communication apparatus, server, payment apparatus, wireless communication method, and program that can more safely connect to the Internet.
  • a wireless communication apparatus including: a first wireless communication unit configured to perform pairing and wireless communication with a wireless terminal that connects to a first network and performs wireless communication; a second wireless communication unit configured to connect to a second network and perform wireless communication; and a control unit configured to control the second wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication with the second network.
  • a wireless communication apparatus including: a first wireless communication unit configured to connect to a first network and perform wireless communication; a second wireless communication unit configured to perform pairing and wireless communication with a wireless terminal that connects to a second network and performs wireless communication; and a control unit configured to control the first wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication of the wireless terminal with the second network.
  • a server including: a communication unit configured to perform communication with a first wireless terminal that connects to a first network and performs wireless communication and a second wireless terminal that connects to a second network and performs wireless communication; and a control unit configured to determine whether or not to remove limitations on communication of the second wireless terminal with the second network based on whether or not first pairing information received from the first wireless terminal by the communication unit and second pairing information received from the second wireless terminal by the communication unit coincide.
  • a payment apparatus including: a first communication unit configured to perform communication with a first wireless terminal having identification information of subscribers to a first network; a second communication unit configured to perform communication with a server that determines whether or not to remove limitations on communication of a second wireless terminal with a second network; and a control unit configured to perform a payment process based on a payment request received by the first communication unit.
  • the control unit controls the second communication unit to transmit pairing information received by the first communication unit to the server.
  • a wireless communication method including: performing, by a first wireless communication unit, pairing and wireless communication with a wireless terminal that connects to a first network and performs wireless communication; connecting, by a second wireless communication unit, to a second network and performing wireless communication; and controlling the second wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication with the second network.
  • a wireless communication method including: connecting, by a first wireless communication unit, to a first network and performing wireless communication; performing, by a second wireless communication unit, pairing and wireless communication with a wireless terminal that connects to a second network and performs wireless communication; and controlling the first wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication of the wireless terminal with the second network.
  • FIG. 1 is a view for explaining an overview of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 2 is a view for explaining an overview of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment.
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a logical configuration of a WLAN terminal according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a logical configuration of a WWAN terminal according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a logical configuration of an authentication server according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a connection process executed in a wireless communication system according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of an EAP authentication process executed in the wireless communication system according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of an EAP authentication process executed in the wireless communication system according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a connection process executed in a wireless communication system according to a second embodiment.
  • FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a connection process executed in a wireless communication system according to the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 12 is a view for explaining an overview of a wireless communication system according to the present embodiment.
  • FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system according to the present embodiment.
  • FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a logical configuration of a payment terminal according to the present embodiment.
  • FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a connection process executed in a wireless communication system according to the present embodiment.
  • FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone.
  • FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation apparatus.
  • elements having substantially the same function and structure may in some cases be distinguished by different letters appended to the same reference sign.
  • multiple elements having substantially the same function and structure are distinguished as wireless communication apparatuses 100 A, 100 B, and 100 C as necessary.
  • only the same reference sign will be given.
  • the wireless communication apparatuses 100 A, 100 B, and 100 C will be simply designated the wireless communication apparatus 100 .
  • FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are views for explaining an overview of a wireless communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the wireless communication system 1 includes a wireless communication apparatus 100 .
  • the wireless communication system 1 includes a wireless communication apparatus 100 and a wireless communication apparatus 200 .
  • the wireless communication apparatus 100 is a wireless terminal capable of wirelessly communicating with another apparatus.
  • the wireless communication apparatus 100 is a notebook PC.
  • the wireless communication apparatus 100 is a WLAN terminal that can connect to a WLAN according to a communication scheme, such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 11b, 11g, 11n, 11ac, or 11ad.
  • IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
  • the WLAN terminal 100 can connect to a wireless network 500 via a base station 510 , and use a service provided by a service network 400 .
  • the WLAN terminal 100 can establish wireless connection with the wireless communication apparatus 200 .
  • This wireless connection can be established according to any communication scheme, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or near field communication (NFC).
  • the WLAN terminal 100 can connect to a WLAN whose network information is known, such as a WLAN operated at a user's home, for example, but cannot easily connect to a WLAN whose network information is unknown, such as a WLAN away from home.
  • the wireless communication apparatus 100 may be implemented as, as well as a notebook PC, a PC, a tablet terminal, personal digital assistants (PDA), a head mounted display (HMD), a headset, a digital camera, a digital video camera, a smartphone, a mobile phone terminal, a portable music player, a portable video processor, or a portable game device.
  • the wireless communication apparatus 200 is a wireless terminal capable of wirelessly communicating with another apparatus.
  • the wireless communication apparatus 200 is a smartphone.
  • the wireless communication apparatus 200 can establish wireless connection with the WLAN terminal 100 , for example.
  • the wireless communication apparatus 200 is a WWAN terminal that has a WWAN communication function and can connect to a WWAN.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 has subscriber identification information for connection to a mobile communication network, and performs an authentication process using the subscriber identification information to establish wireless connection with a wireless network 300 (e.g., mobile communication network).
  • the subscriber identification information is, for example, international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) stored in a subscriber identity module card (SIM card).
  • IMSI international mobile subscriber identity
  • SIM card subscriber identity module card
  • the WWAN terminal 200 can connect to the wireless network 300 using the WWAN communication function, and use a service provided by a service network 400 .
  • the wireless communication apparatus 200 may be implemented as, as well as a smartphone, a notebook PC, a PC, a tablet terminal, PDA, a HMD, a headset, a digital camera, a digital video camera, a mobile phone terminal, a portable music player, a portable video processor, or a portable game device.
  • the wireless network 300 is a WWAN (first network), such as a mobile communication network.
  • the WWAN 300 is operated according to any wireless communication scheme, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), GSM (registered trademark), UMTS, W-CDMA, or CDMA2000.
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • LTE-A LTE-Advanced
  • GSM registered trademark
  • UMTS Ultra-term evolution
  • W-CDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access 2000
  • CDMA2000 Code Division Multiple Access 2000
  • the service network 400 is a public network, such as the Internet.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 can access the service network 400 via the WWAN 300 .
  • a terminal without a WWAN communication function cannot easily access the Internet via the WWAN 300 .
  • tethering by a terminal capable of WWAN communication may be performed, or a public WLAN may be used, for example.
  • Tethering is a technology in which, via a terminal with a WWAN communication function, such as a smartphone, another communication terminal connects to a WWAN 300 .
  • a terminal with a WWAN communication function such as a smartphone
  • another communication terminal connects to a WWAN 300 .
  • the WWAN terminal 200 is connectable to the WWAN 300 and the WLAN terminal 100 , therefore, the WWAN terminal 200 can serve as an access point that relays communication between the WWAN 300 and the WLAN terminal 100 , thus enabling tethering.
  • Tethering is available regardless of where the WWAN terminal 200 is located in a WWAN communication available area.
  • terminal setting for using tethering is required to be performed in both the WWAN terminal 200 and the WLAN terminal 100 , which leads to poor user convenience.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 serving as an access point consumes a large amount of power.
  • a public WLAN is a service that provides connection to the Internet using a WLAN.
  • communication using the public WLAN will be described with reference to FIG. 2 .
  • a wireless network 500 illustrated in FIG. 2 is a public network (second network) operated by a WLAN, for example.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 can connect to the WLAN 500 to access the service network 400 , or to access the service network 400 further via the WWAN 300 . This allows the WLAN terminal 100 to use a service provided by the service network 400 .
  • a wireless terminal with a WWAN communication function such as a smartphone
  • ANDSF access network discovery and selection function
  • 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project
  • Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint proposed by Wi-Fi Alliance.
  • a wireless terminal without a WWAN communication function like a notebook PC, not having subscriber identification information, may require a user to select an available public WLAN for oneself and perform an authentication procedure, which leads to poor convenience.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 connects to the WLAN 500 , there are many cases where authentication by means of a user ID and a password provided by a communication service provider is required, and it takes time to input authentication information.
  • the operation of inputting this authentication information occurs at each terminal, and thus takes additional time.
  • the access right of the WLAN terminal 100 is managed by using a MAC address of a wireless LAN module, and thus there is the risk of suffering from damage from spoofing and the like.
  • the wireless communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is able to connect easily and safely to the public WLAN to use the Internet even without a WWAN communication function and subscriber identification information.
  • the wireless communication system including the wireless communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to FIGS. 3 to 17 .
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment.
  • the wireless communication system 1 includes the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 , and provides wireless connection to the WWAN 300 , the WLAN 500 , and the service network 400 .
  • the WWAN 300 is operated by the base station 310 , a gateway 320 , a subscriber information server 330 , an authentication server 340 , and a network information providing server 350 .
  • the base station 310 serves as a contact when a wireless terminal with a WWAN communication function connects to the WWAN 300 .
  • the base station 310 accepts connection from the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the base station 310 corresponds to an eNB.
  • the gateway 320 relays communication between the WWAN 300 and another network.
  • the gateway 320 relays communication between the WWAN 300 and the service network 400 , and communication between the WWAN 300 and the WLAN 500 .
  • the gateway 320 corresponds to a packet data network gateway (P-GW).
  • P-GW packet data network gateway
  • the WLAN terminal 100 when using the service network 400 , communicates with the service network 400 via the base station 510 and the gateway 320 .
  • the gateway 320 After authentication of the WLAN terminal 100 to the WLAN 500 , under communication limitations before the authentication server 340 which will be described below verifies the access right, the gateway 320 does not relay communication between the WLAN terminal 100 and the service network 400 .
  • the gateway 320 relays communication between the service network 400 and the WLAN terminal 100 whose access right has been successfully verified by the authentication server 340 .
  • the subscriber information server 330 retains subscriber information for the WWAN 300 .
  • the subscriber information server 330 also retains information used for an authentication process when a wireless terminal connects to the WWAN 300 .
  • the subscriber information server 330 corresponds to a home subscriber server (HSS).
  • HSS home subscriber server
  • the authentication server 340 authenticates that connection to the WWAN 300 is connection by a subscriber of the WWAN 300 .
  • the authentication server 340 may perform this authentication process referring to the subscriber information server 330 .
  • the authentication server 340 corresponds to an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server.
  • the WWAN 300 and the WLAN 500 share subscriber identification information used for authentication.
  • a terminal that has a WWAN communication function and can connect to the WWAN 300 through an authentication process using the subscriber identification information can also connect to the WLAN 500 through an authentication process using the subscriber identification information.
  • the authentication server 340 performs an authentication process referring to the subscriber information server 330 on both a terminal that performs connection to the WLAN 500 and a terminal that performs connection to the WWAN 300 .
  • the authentication server 430 permits communication in a limited communication environment to the WLAN terminal 100 whose authentication to the WLAN 500 has succeeded.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 is permitted, for example, communication with the authentication server 340 .
  • the authentication server 340 performs verification of the access right (determination of removal of communication limitations).
  • the access right is, for example, an access right to the service network 400 .
  • the verification of the access right is performed according to whether or not coincident pairing information is collected from the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the authentication server 340 gives the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 which has succeeded in the verification of the access right.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 which has been given the access right can use the service network 400 through relay of communication by the gateway 320 .
  • the authentication server 30 does not give the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 which has failed in the verification of the access right.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 which has not been given the access right cannot go through relay of communication by the gateway 320 and cannot use the service network 400 .
  • the network information providing server 350 provides information on a wireless network that is a connection destination, which is needed in switching a connection destination from a wireless network to which a wireless terminal is connected currently to another wireless network.
  • the network information providing server 350 may provide the WWAN terminal 200 with network information for connecting to the WLAN 500 .
  • the network information providing server 350 corresponds to an ANDSF server.
  • the WLAN 500 is a public network operated by a base station 510 .
  • a communication scheme of the public network is described to be WLAN, but the public network may be operated according to any other communication scheme, such as Bluetooth.
  • the base station 510 serves as a contact when a wireless terminal with a WLAN communication function connects to the WLAN 500 .
  • the base station 510 accepts connection from the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the base station 510 corresponds to an access point.
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a logical configuration of the WLAN terminal 100 according to the present embodiment.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 includes a wireless communication unit 110 , a memory unit 120 , and a control unit 130 .
  • the wireless communication unit 110 is a communication module that transmits and receives data to/from an external device.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 can perform wireless communication using various communication schemes.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 includes a WLAN module 112 and is capable of wireless communication using Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or WLAN.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 also includes a Bluetooth (BT) module 114 and is capable of wireless communication using Bluetooth.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 also includes an NFC module 116 and is capable of wireless communication using NFC.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 can serve as a first wireless communication unit that performs pairing and wireless communication with the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the wireless communication unit 110 may perform pairing and wireless communication with the WWAN terminal 200 by using a near field wireless communication scheme, such as NFC, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi direct (registered trademark), WLAN, or the like.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 may perform pairing and wireless communication with the WWAN terminal 200 by using a near field wireless communication scheme, such as ZigBee (registered trademark), infrared data association (IrDA), or the like.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 outputs information on pairing with the WWAN terminal 200 with which pairing has been established, and stores the pairing information in, for example, the memory unit 120 .
  • the pairing information is information including at least one of identification information for identifying the WWAN terminal 200 with which pairing has been established and identification information for identifying the WLAN terminal 100 itself, a link key generated when the pairing is established, and hash data generated based on the link key.
  • the identification information is device address information that is used for wireless communication between the WWAN terminal 200 and the wireless communication unit 110 .
  • the pairing information includes Bluetooth device addresses (BD_ADDRs) of both the WWAN terminal 200 and the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the pairing information includes P2P device addresses of both the WWAN terminal 200 and the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the link key is information that is automatically generated when the pairing is established.
  • the link key is represented by a 128-bit random number.
  • the link key is represented by a 64-bit hexadecimal number.
  • the hash data is short data that is generated by a specific algorithm, and can be generated using an algorithm, for example, CRC, MD5, SHA1, SHA256, or the like.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 may serve as a second wireless communication unit that connects to a public network to perform wireless communication.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 connects to the WLAN 500 using a wireless communication scheme, such as WLAN.
  • the public network may support any wireless communication scheme other than WLAN, and in that case, the wireless communication unit 110 may connect to the public network using a wireless communication scheme corresponding to the public network.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 may transmit the pairing information to the authentication server 340 using the WLAN 500 .
  • the wireless communication unit 110 may measure a reception radio wave intensity indicating the intensity of a signal received from the WLAN 500 .
  • the wireless communication unit 110 may perform wireless communication with the WWLAN terminal 200 and a public network by using the same communication scheme. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may communicate with the WWAN terminal 200 by using a WLAN and connect to the WLAN 500 .
  • the memory unit 120 performs recording and reproduction of data on a predetermined recording medium.
  • the memory unit 120 stores information received from the WWAN terminal 200 by the wireless communication unit 110 .
  • the memory unit 120 stores information on pairing with the WWAN terminal 200 with which pairing has been established in the past.
  • the control unit 130 serves as an arithmetic processor and a controller, and controls the overall operation in the WLAN terminal 100 according to various programs.
  • the control unit 130 controls the wireless communication unit 110 to transmit the information on pairing with the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the WLAN terminal 100 is permitted communication for determination of removal of the communication limitations as communication using the WLAN 500 .
  • the control unit 130 transmits the pairing information to the authentication server 340 via the base station 510 .
  • the control unit 130 may encrypt the pairing information and cause transmission of the encrypted pairing information. In this case, security can be improved.
  • verification of the access right is performed. For example, when coincident pairing information has been transmitted from both the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 , the communication limitations are removed, and otherwise, the communication limitations are not removed. Therefore, unless the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 have established pairing, the communication limitations are not removed, and thus spoofing is more reliably prevented compared to the case of simply managing the access right using a MAC address. Verification of the access right is performed by, for example, the authentication server 340 .
  • the communication service provider an administrator of the wireless communication system 1
  • the wireless communication system 1 performs access control using a MAC address of the WLAN terminal 100 (WLAN module) in many cases.
  • this scheme has the risk of suffering from damage from spoofing due to rewriting of the MAC address or the like.
  • the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment performs access control using pairing information. This allows the communication service provider to specify subscriber identification information of the WWAN terminal 200 which has been paired with the WLAN terminal 100 , and it is possible to reduce the risk of spoofing.
  • the communication service provider can determine that a single subscriber is attempting to connect a plurality of WLAN terminals 100 having different MAC addresses to a public WLAN.
  • the communication service provider can specify relationships between the WWAN terminal 200 and the WLAN terminals 100 by means of the pairing information even if the WLAN terminals 100 do not perform EAP authentication. This allows the communication service provider to readily perform access management, limitation of the number of terminals, billing management, and the like, and to provide a precise service.
  • the control unit 130 may control the wireless communication unit 110 to transmit type information indicating the type (game device, video camera, or the like) of the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the control unit 130 transmits the type information to the authentication server 340 via the base station 510 .
  • the control unit 130 may transmit the type information and the pairing information simultaneously or at different timings, or the type information may be included in the pairing information.
  • the communication service provider becomes able to specify the type of the WLAN terminal 100 based on the type information, and provide a capacity, a billing plan, and the like of a demanded communication line according to the type of the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the control unit 130 may perform an authentication process using subscriber identification information.
  • the control unit 130 performs authentication to the WLAN 500 by means of extensible authentication protocol (EAP) authentication using subscriber identification information of the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • EAP extensible authentication protocol
  • the control unit 130 receives authentication information based on subscriber identification information from the WWAN terminal 200 by the wireless communication unit 110 , and performs authentication to the WLAN 500 using the authentication information by the wireless communication unit 110 .
  • the control unit 130 controls a relay process of relaying messages transmitted and received between the WWAN terminal 200 and the WLAN 500 for an authentication process to be performed by the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the control unit 130 transmits a message (first message) for authentication to the WLAN 500 , which has been received by the wireless communication unit 110 , to the WWAN terminal 200 by the wireless communication unit 110 .
  • This message is, for example, a message requesting generation of authentication information.
  • the control unit 130 transmits a message (second message) including authentication information generated by the WWAN terminal 200 , which has been received from the WWAN terminal 200 by the wireless communication unit 110 , to the base station 510 operating the WLAN 500 by the wireless communication unit 110 .
  • the messages relayed by the WLAN terminal 100 may be messages for an authentication process using extensible authentication protocol (EAP).
  • EAP extensible authentication protocol
  • the first message may be EAP-Request/Identity
  • the second message may be EAP-Response/Identity
  • the first message may be EAP-Request/AKA-Challenge
  • the second message may be EAP-Response/AKA-Challenge.
  • EAP-AKA is used as an example of an authentication protocol, but another authentication protocol using subscriber information for an authentication process, such as EAP-SIM or EAP-AKA′, may be used.
  • the control unit 130 can cause the WWAN terminal 200 to, as a proxy, perform an authentication process to the WLAN 500 using EAP. Therefore, the WLAN terminal 100 can connect to the WLAN 500 easily even without subscriber identification information.
  • the control unit 130 may select the information on pairing with the WWAN terminal 200 having subscriber identification information used for EAP authentication from the memory unit 120 as a target of transmission by the wireless communication unit 110 . Accordingly, when a plurality of pieces of pairing information are stored in the memory unit 120 , it is possible to avoid transmission of unnecessary pairing information which cannot coincide with pairing information transmitted from the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • a configuration example of the WLAN terminal 100 according to the present embodiment has been described above. Subsequently, a configuration example of the WWAN terminal 200 according to the present embodiment will be described.
  • FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a logical configuration of the WWAN terminal 200 according to the present embodiment.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 includes a wireless communication unit 210 , a memory unit 220 , a subscriber identification module 230 , and a control unit 240 .
  • the wireless communication unit 210 is a communication module that transmits and receives data to/from an external device.
  • the wireless communication unit 210 can perform wireless communication using various communication schemes.
  • the wireless communication unit 210 includes a WWAN module 212 and is capable of wireless communication using WWAN 300 .
  • the wireless communication unit 210 also includes a WLAN module 214 and is capable of wireless communication using Wi-Fi, or WLAN.
  • the wireless communication unit 210 also includes a BT module 216 and is capable of wireless communication using Bluetooth.
  • the wireless communication unit 210 also includes an NFC module 218 and is capable of wireless communication using NFC.
  • the wireless communication unit 210 can serve as a second wireless communication unit that performs pairing and wireless communication with the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the wireless communication unit 210 can perform pairing and wireless communication with the WLAN terminal 100 using a near field wireless communication scheme, such as NFC, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi direct, WLAN, or the like.
  • the wireless communication unit 210 may perform pairing and wireless communication with the WLAN terminal 100 using a near field wireless communication scheme, such as ZigBee, infrared data association (IrDA), or the like.
  • the wireless communication unit 210 can serve as a first wireless communication unit that connects to the WWAN 300 by means of the WWAN module 212 to perform wireless communication.
  • the memory unit 220 performs recording and reproduction of data on a predetermined recording medium.
  • the memory unit 220 stores information received from the WWAN 300 by the wireless communication unit 210 .
  • the memory unit 220 stores information on pairing with the WLAN terminal 100 with which pairing has been established in the past.
  • the subscriber identification module 230 serves as a storage unit that stores subscriber identification information for the WWAN 300 .
  • the subscriber identification module 230 is implemented by a SIM card.
  • the control unit 240 serves as an arithmetic processor and a controller, and controls the overall operation in the WWAN terminal 200 according to various programs.
  • the control unit 240 controls the wireless communication unit 210 to transmit information on pairing with the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the WWAN terminal 200 transmits the pairing information to the authentication server 340 via the base station 310 .
  • the control unit 240 may encrypt the pairing information and cause transmission of the encrypted pairing information. In this case, security can be improved.
  • the control unit 240 may perform an authentication process for authentication of the WLAN terminal 100 to the WLAN 500 .
  • the control unit 240 generates authentication information based on subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber identification module 230 , and transmits the authentication information to the WLAN terminal 100 by the wireless communication unit 210 .
  • the control unit 240 performs an authentication process on the basis of a message relayed by the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the control unit 240 generates authentication information by performing an authentication process on the basis of a message (first message) for authentication of the WLAN terminal 100 to the WLAN 500 , which has been received from the WLAN terminal 100 by the wireless communication unit 210 .
  • This message is, for example, a message requesting generation of authentication information.
  • the control unit 240 transmits a message (second message) including the generated authentication information to the WLAN terminal 100 by the wireless communication unit 210 .
  • the control unit 240 may generate authentication information by performing an authentication process using EAP on the basis of a message relayed by the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the control unit 240 may perform an authentication process using any authentication protocol using subscriber information for an authentication process, such as EAP-AKA, EAP-SIM, or EAP-AKA′.
  • the control unit 240 can, as a proxy for the WLAN terminal 100 , perform an authentication process to the WLAN 500 using EAP. Therefore, even when the WLAN terminal 100 does not have subscriber identification information, the WWAN terminal 200 allows the WLAN terminal 100 to connect to the WLAN 500 easily. Moreover, the WWAN terminal 200 does not transmit subscriber identification information or the like directly to the WLAN terminal 100 , which ensures security.
  • the control unit 240 can transmit the pairing information at various timings. For example, when EAP authentication to the WLAN 500 by the WLAN terminal 100 using subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber identification module 230 succeeds, the control unit 240 may control the wireless communication unit 210 to transmit the pairing information. A timing at which verification of the access right relating to the WLAN terminal 100 is performed is after the EAP authentication to the WLAN 500 succeeds. For this reason, when the WWAN terminal 200 transmits the pairing information according to the success of the EAP authentication, it is possible to avoid unnecessary transmission of the pairing information. Needless to say, the control unit 240 may transmit the pairing information before success of the EAP authentication, such as at a timing when the pairing is established, at regular timings, and the like.
  • control unit 240 may select information on pairing with the WLAN terminal 100 that has performed EAP authentication from the memory unit 220 as a target of transmission by the wireless communication unit 210 . Accordingly, when a plurality of pieces of pairing information are stored in the memory unit 220 , it is possible to avoid transmission of unnecessary pairing information which cannot coincide with pairing information transmitted from the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • a configuration example of the WWAN terminal 200 according to the present embodiment has been described above. Subsequently, a configuration example of the authentication server 340 according to the present embodiment will be described.
  • FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a logical configuration of the authentication server 340 according to the present embodiment.
  • the authentication server 340 includes a communication unit 341 , a memory unit 342 , and a control unit 343 .
  • the communication unit 341 is a communication module that transmits and receives data to/from an external device.
  • the communication unit 341 can perform wireless communication using various wired/wireless communication schemes.
  • the communication unit 341 according to the present embodiment performs communication with the WWAN terminal 200 that connects to the WWAN 300 to perform wireless communication and the WLAN terminal 100 that connects to the WLAN 500 to perform wireless communication, directly or indirectly via an arbitrary communication node.
  • the communication unit 341 receives pairing information from the WLAN terminal 100 or the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the memory unit 342 is a portion that performs recording and reproduction of data on a predetermined recording medium.
  • the memory unit 342 stores information received from the WLAN terminal 100 or the WWAN terminal 200 by the communication unit 341 .
  • the memory unit 342 stores pairing information received from the WLAN terminal 100 or the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the memory unit 342 may store the received pairing information until a time for providing a communication service to the WLAN terminal 100 elapses and destroy the stored pairing information after the time elapses.
  • the control unit 343 serves as an arithmetic processor and a controller, and controls the overall operation in the authentication server 340 according to various programs.
  • control unit 343 performs an authentication process of the WLAN terminal 100 to the WLAN 500 with reference to the subscriber information server 330 .
  • the control unit 343 permits the WLAN terminal 100 communication in a limited communication environment.
  • the control unit 343 performs verification of the access right. For example, the control unit 343 performs verification of the access right using first pairing information received from the WWAN terminal 200 (first wireless terminal) by the communication unit 341 and second pairing information received from the WLAN terminal 100 (second wireless terminal) by the communication unit 341 . Specifically, based on whether or not the first pairing information and the second pairing information coincide, the control unit 343 determines whether or not to remove limitations on communication of the WLAN terminal 100 with the WLAN 500 .
  • the control unit 343 determines that the first pairing information and the second pairing information coincide. Besides, when the same link key or the same hash data is included in the first pairing information and the second pairing information, the control unit 343 may determine that the first pairing information and the second pairing information coincide. The control unit 343 may combine a determination using identification information and a determination using link keys, or may use any one of the determinations. The control unit 343 gives the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 that has succeeded in verification of the access right, and does not give the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 that has failed in authentication of the access right. The control unit 343 may perform verification of the access right using a MAC address in addition to pairing information.
  • BD_ADDRs BD_ADDRs, P2P device addresses, or the like
  • a configuration example of the authentication server 340 according to the present embodiment has been described above. Subsequently, an operation of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 9 .
  • FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a connection process executed in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the present sequence involves the base station 310 , the WWAN terminal 200 , the WLAN terminal 100 , the base station 510 , and the authentication server 340 .
  • the WWAN terminal 200 transmits device information to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the WWAN terminal 200 and the WLAN terminal 100 perform pairing using Bluetooth
  • the WWAN terminal 200 transmits its BD_ADDR as device information.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 and the WLAN terminal 100 perform pairing using Wi-Fi direct
  • the WWAN terminal 200 transmits its P2P device address as device information.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 may use the NFC module 218 to transmit the device information.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 may display a QR code (registered trademark), a barcode, or the like in which device information is embedded by means of a display unit or the like that is not shown, and the WLAN terminal 100 may read the device information by means of an image sensor that is not shown. Transmission of device information may be performed from the WLAN terminal 100 to the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • QR code registered trademark
  • barcode barcode
  • Transmission of device information may be performed from the WLAN terminal 100 to the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • step S 104 the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 establish pairing.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 establish a communication path using the device information obtained in step S 102 above.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 establish a communication path using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi direct, NFC, or the like.
  • step S 106 the WLAN terminal 100 performs authentication to the WLAN 500 by means of an EAP authentication process. Since this process will be described below with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 , detailed description is omitted here.
  • the communication path of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi direct, NFC, or the like has been established already between the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 in step S 104 , and thus messages for the EAP authentication process are transmitted and received using this communication path.
  • step S 108 the WWAN terminal 200 transmits pairing information to the authentication server 340 via the base station 310 .
  • the pairing information transmitted here includes identification information of the WWAN terminal 200 itself and the WLAN terminal 100 that is the pairing partner.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 may selectively transmit the information on pairing with the WLAN terminal 100 that has performed the EAP authentication in step S 106 above.
  • step S 110 the WLAN terminal 100 executes IP address allocation with the base station 510 to acquire an IP address.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 is subjected to communication limitations under which communication for verification of the access right is possible but it is not possible to use the service network 400 .
  • the WLAN terminal 100 transmits pairing information to the authentication server 340 via the base station 510 .
  • the pairing information transmitted here includes identification information of the WLAN terminal 100 itself and the WWAN terminal 200 that is the pairing partner.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 may selectively transmit the information on pairing with the WWAN terminal 200 which has subscriber identification information used for the EAP authentication of step S 106 above.
  • the authentication server 340 performs a verification process of the access right. For example, the authentication server 340 compares the pairing information received from the WWAN terminal 200 in step S 108 above and the pairing information received from the WLAN terminal 100 in step S 112 above and determines whether or not the same combination of identification information is included. The authentication server 340 determines that the verification has succeeded when the same combination of identification information is included, and determines that the verification has failed when the same combination of identification information is not included. Besides, the authentication server 340 may compare the pairing information received from the WWAN terminal 200 in step S 108 above and the pairing information received from the WLAN terminal 100 in step S 112 above and determine whether or not the same link key or the same hash data is included. Then, the authentication server 340 determines that the verification has succeeded when the same link key or the same hash data is included, and determines that the verification has failed when the same link key or the same hash data is not included.
  • step S 116 the authentication server 340 gives the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 and permits access. In the case of failure in the verification, the authentication server 340 does not give the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 and rejects use of the service network 400 by the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • connection process An example of a connection process according to the present embodiment has been described above. Subsequently, the EAP authentication process (step S 106 of FIG. 7 ) will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 .
  • FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are sequence diagrams illustrating an example of the flow of an EAP authentication process executed in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment.
  • the sequence involves the base station 310 , the WWAN terminal 200 , the WLAN terminal 100 , the base station 510 , the authentication server 340 , and the subscriber information server 330 .
  • communication modules used in message exchange are mentioned without the word “module.”
  • messages having the WLAN (Wi-Fi) module 112 as a starting point or an end point indicate that the messages are transmitted or received by the WLAN module 112 . This is the same for the BT module 114 , the WWAN module 212 , and the BT module 216 .
  • the communication path has been established between the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 , and messages for the EAP authentication process are transmitted and received using the communication path.
  • wireless connection using Bluetooth has been established for tethering between the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the wireless connection may be established according to an arbitrary communication scheme other than Bluetooth, for example, Wi-Fi direct or the like.
  • step S 202 the WLAN terminal 100 performs association with the base station 510 .
  • the WLAN terminal 100 establishes logical connection for an authentication process.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 cannot yet perform operation other than an authentication process, such as data communication.
  • step S 204 the WLAN terminal 100 transmits EAPoL-Start to the base station 510 .
  • step S 206 the base station 510 transmits EAP-Request/Identity to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • step S 208 the WLAN terminal 100 transmits EAP-Request/Identity received in step S 206 to the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • This message requests the WWAN terminal 200 to generate Identity needed in EAP-AKA.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 generates Identity referring to its own subscriber identification module 230 .
  • the control unit 240 generates Identity on the basis of information recorded on a SIM card serving as the subscriber identification module 230 .
  • Identity is generated on the basis of IMSI.
  • IMSI has the following format.
  • MCC Mobile Country Code
  • MNC Mobile Network Code
  • MSIN Mobile Subscriber Identification Number
  • step S 212 the WWAN terminal 200 returns EAP-Response/Identity to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • This message stores Identity generated in step S 210 .
  • step S 214 the WLAN terminal 100 transfers the received EAP-Response/Identity to the base station 510 .
  • step S 216 the base station 510 transmits RADIUS-Access-Request to the authentication server 340 .
  • This message stores Identity generated by the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • step S 218 the authentication server 340 transmits Retrieve-Authentication-Vector to the subscriber information server 330 , to request an authentication vector for Identity.
  • This message stores Identity generated by the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • An authentication vector is a set of information needed in authenticating a terminal that has connected, and includes the following information in EAP-AKA.
  • RAND A random value. Used as a challenge.
  • AUTN A value for a terminal to authenticate a network.
  • XRES A response value expected in response to a challenge.
  • IK Message integrity verification key
  • step S 220 the subscriber information server 330 executes AKA algorithm to generate an authentication vector corresponding to Identity stored in the received message.
  • step S 222 the subscriber information server 330 transmits the generated authentication vector to the authentication server 340 .
  • step S 224 the authentication server 340 transmits RADIUS-Access-Challenge to the base station 510 .
  • This message stores the authentication vector generated by the subscriber information server 330 .
  • the authentication server 340 newly calculates Message Authentication Code (MAC), and adds it to the message.
  • MAC Message Authentication Code
  • step S 226 the base station 510 transmits EAP-Request/AKA-Challenge to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • This message includes RAND and AUTN of the authentication vector, and MAC. XRES, IK, and CK of the authentication vector are retained by the base station 510 , not being transmitted to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • step S 228 the WLAN terminal 100 transmits EAP-Request/AKA-Challenge to the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • This message requests the WWAN terminal 200 to generate a response value (RES) and session keys (IK, CK).
  • RES response value
  • IK, CK session keys
  • step S 230 the WWAN terminal 200 executes AKA algorithm to generate RES, MAC, and session keys (IK, CK) corresponding to the received EAP-Request/AKA-Challenge.
  • step S 232 the WWAN terminal 200 transmits EAP-Response/AKA-Challenge to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • This message stores RES, MAC, and the session keys generated by the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • step S 234 the WLAN terminal 100 transfers the received EAP-Response/AKA-Challenge to the base station 510 .
  • step S 236 the base station 510 transmits RADIUS-Access-Request to the authentication server 340 .
  • This message stores RES, MAC, and the session keys (IK, CK) generated by the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • step S 238 the authentication server 340 verifies the received RES. Specifically, the authentication server 340 verifies the integrity of the message on the basis of the coincidence between RES generated by the WWAN terminal 200 and XRES generated by the subscriber information server 330 , and MAC.
  • step S 240 the authentication server 340 transmits RADIUS-Access-Accept to the base station 510 . This message indicates permission for connection.
  • step S 242 the base station 510 transmits EAP-Success to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • This message reports to the WLAN terminal 100 that the authentication process has succeeded.
  • step S 244 the base station 510 transmits EAPoL-Key to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • This message sends a key for encrypted communication to be used between the WLAN terminal 100 and the base station 510 .
  • connection for WLAN communication is completed between the WLAN terminal 100 and the base station 510 in step S 246 .
  • data communication using Wi-Fi for example, is started between the WLAN terminal 100 and the base station 510 .
  • the present embodiment is a form of a comparison of pairing information (hereinafter referred to as a pairing confirmation process), which is a part of a verification process of the access right, in at least either of the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • a wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment has the same function and structure as the wireless communication system 1 according to the first embodiment. Distinguishing configurations of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 receives a pairing confirmation request from the authentication server 340 and returns a pairing confirmation response.
  • the wireless communication unit 110 transmits pairing information to the authentication server.
  • a pairing confirmation request is information that requests confirmation of whether or not pairing with a specific wireless terminal has been established.
  • the pairing confirmation request includes pairing information in which one side of pairing is the WLAN terminal 100 itself and the other side is the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • a pairing confirmation response is response information indicating confirmation results corresponding to a pairing confirmation request.
  • the control unit 130 has a function of performing a pairing confirmation process. For example, the control unit 130 generates a pairing confirmation response indicating whether or not pairing with a wireless terminal indicated by the pairing confirmation request received by the wireless communication unit 110 has been established, and causes the wireless communication unit 110 to return the pairing confirmation response. In this way, when the WLAN terminal 100 performs a pairing confirmation process, processing load in the authentication server 340 is reduced. It is possible to conceive various methods for confirming whether or not pairing has been established.
  • control unit 130 may generate a pairing confirmation response based on whether or not pairing with the wireless terminal indicated by the pairing confirmation request has been established in the past. For example, the control unit 130 confirms whether or not the same combination of pairing information as a combination of pairing information included in the pairing confirmation request has been stored in the memory unit 120 . Then, the control unit 130 generates a pairing confirmation response that the pairing confirmation has succeeded when the same combination of pairing information has been stored, and generates a pairing confirmation response that the pairing confirmation has failed when the same combination of pairing information has not been stored.
  • control unit 130 may generate a pairing confirmation response based on whether or not wireless connection with the wireless terminal indicated by the pairing confirmation request succeeds. For example, the control unit 130 makes a connection request to the WWAN terminal 200 indicated by the pairing confirmation response. Then, the control unit 130 generates a pairing confirmation response that the pairing confirmation has succeeded when the connection succeeds, and generates a pairing confirmation response that the pairing confirmation has failed when the connection fails.
  • the pairing confirmation process is performed based on the current relationship between the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 as well as the past relationship. For this reason, even when pairing has been established in the past, the wireless communication system 1 can give a suitable access right according to a situation change, such as the case where owners of both the terminals are currently different, and the like.
  • the wireless communication unit 210 receives a pairing confirmation request from the authentication server 340 and returns a pairing confirmation response.
  • the pairing confirmation request includes pairing information in which one side of pairing is the WWAN terminal 200 itself and the other side is the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the wireless communication unit 210 transmits pairing information to the authentication server.
  • the control unit 240 has a function of performing a pairing confirmation process. For example, the control unit 240 generates a pairing confirmation response indicating whether or not pairing with a wireless terminal indicated by the pairing confirmation request received by the wireless communication unit 210 has been established, and causes the wireless communication unit 210 to return the pairing confirmation response. In this way, when the WWAN terminal 200 performs a pairing confirmation process, processing load in the authentication server 340 is reduced. In addition, considering that the WLAN terminal 100 connects to the WLAN 500 using subscriber identification information of the WWAN terminal 200 , when the pairing confirmation process is performed by the WWAN terminal 200 , spoofing can be prevented. For example, the user of the WWAN terminal 200 can prevent spoofing by operating the WWAN terminal 200 such that it does not give the access right to an unknown wireless terminal.
  • the control unit 240 may generate the pairing confirmation response based on whether or not pairing with the wireless terminal indicated by the pairing confirmation request has been established in the past. In addition, the control unit 240 may generate the pairing confirmation response based on whether or not wireless connection with the wireless terminal indicated by the pairing confirmation request succeeds.
  • the communication unit 341 transmits a pairing confirmation request to a wireless terminal that performs a pairing confirmation process and receives a pairing confirmation response.
  • the control unit 343 causes the WLAN terminal 100 or the WWAN terminal 200 to perform a pairing confirmation process.
  • the control unit 343 transmits a pairing confirmation request to at least either of the WLAN terminal 100 having succeeded in authentication to the WLAN 500 and the WWAN terminal 200 having subscriber identification information which has been used for authentication.
  • the control unit 343 may transmit a pairing confirmation request to a wireless terminal that is not a transmission source between wireless terminals indicated by the pairing information.
  • the control unit 343 may transmit a pairing confirmation request to both the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 and cause the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 to perform a pairing confirmation process. In this case, the effect of preventing spoofing can be improved compared to the case of any one of the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 performing a pairing confirmation process.
  • the control unit 343 performs verification of the access right according to an access confirmation response from a wireless terminal that has performed a pairing confirmation process. For example, the control unit 343 gives the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 corresponding to an access confirmation response that pairing has been established.
  • a configuration example of the authentication server 340 according to the present embodiment has been described above.
  • the example illustrated in FIG. 10 is an example of a connection process when the WLAN terminal 100 performs a pairing confirmation process
  • the example illustrated in FIG. 11 is an example of a connection process when the WWAN terminal 200 performs a pairing confirmation process.
  • FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a connection process executed in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 10 , the present sequence involves the base station 310 , the WWAN terminal 200 , the WLAN terminal 100 , the base station 510 , and the authentication server 340 .
  • step S 302 the WWAN terminal 200 transmits device information to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • step S 304 the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 establish pairing.
  • step S 306 the WLAN terminal 100 performs authentication to the WLAN 500 by means of an EAP authentication process.
  • step S 308 the WWAN terminal 200 transmits pairing information to the authentication server 340 via the base station 310 .
  • the pairing information transmitted here includes identification information of the WWAN terminal 200 itself and the WLAN terminal 100 that is the pairing partner.
  • step S 310 the WLAN terminal 100 executes IP address allocation with the base station 510 to acquire an IP address.
  • the authentication server 340 transmits a pairing confirmation request to the WLAN terminal 100 via the base station 510 .
  • the authentication server 340 transmits a pairing confirmation request to the WLAN terminal 100 that is a wireless terminal but is not a transmission source between wireless terminals indicated by the pairing information received in step S 308 above.
  • This pairing confirmation request includes the same pairing information including the identification information of the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 as the pairing information that has been received in step S 308 above.
  • step S 314 the WLAN terminal 100 performs a pairing confirmation process.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 confirms whether or not pairing with the WWAN terminal 200 , which is a wireless terminal indicated by the pairing confirmation request received in step S 312 above, has been established, and generates a pairing confirmation response indicating confirmation results.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 confirms whether or not the pairing has been established by referring to the memory unit 120 and attempting wireless connection with the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • step S 316 the WLAN terminal 100 transmits the pairing confirmation response generated in step S 314 to the authentication server 340 via the base station 510 .
  • step S 318 the authentication server 340 performs a verification process of the access right. For example, based on the confirmation results indicated by the pairing confirmation response received in step S 316 above, the authentication server 340 performs the verification process of the access right. For example, the authentication server 340 determines that the verification has succeeded when the confirmation results indicate success in the pairing confirmation, and determines that the verification has failed when the confirmation results indicate failure in the pairing confirmation.
  • step S 320 the authentication server 340 gives the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 and permits access. In the case of failure in the verification, the authentication server 340 does not give the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 and rejects use of the service network 400 by the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • connection process An example of a connection process according to the present embodiment has been described above. Subsequently, another example of a connection process will be described with reference to FIG. 11 .
  • FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a connection process executed in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 11 , the present sequence involves the base station 310 , the WWAN terminal 200 , the WLAN terminal 100 , the base station 510 , and the authentication server 340 .
  • step S 402 the WWAN terminal 200 transmits device information to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • step S 404 the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 establish pairing.
  • step S 406 the WLAN terminal 100 performs authentication to the WLAN 500 by means of an EAP authentication process.
  • step S 408 the WLAN terminal 100 executes IP address allocation with the base station 510 to acquire an IP address.
  • step S 410 the WLAN terminal 100 transmits pairing information to the authentication server 340 via the base station 510 .
  • the pairing information transmitted here includes identification information of the WLAN terminal 100 itself and the WWAN terminal 200 that is the pairing partner.
  • step S 412 the authentication server 340 transmits a pairing confirmation request to the WWAN terminal 200 via the base station 310 .
  • the authentication server 340 transmits a pairing confirmation request to the WWAN terminal 200 that is a wireless terminal but is not a transmission source between wireless terminals indicated by the pairing information received in step S 410 above.
  • This pairing confirmation request includes the same pairing information including the identification information of the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 as the pairing information that has been received in step S 410 above.
  • step S 414 the WWAN terminal 200 performs a pairing confirmation process.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 confirms whether or not pairing with the WLAN terminal 100 , which is a wireless terminal indicated by the pairing confirmation request received in step S 412 above, has been established, and generates a pairing confirmation response indicating confirmation results.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 confirms whether or not the pairing has been established by referring to the memory unit 220 and attempting wireless connection with the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • step S 416 the WWAN terminal 200 transmits the pairing confirmation response generated in step S 414 to the authentication server 340 via the base station 310 .
  • step S 418 the authentication server 340 performs a verification process of the access right.
  • step S 420 the authentication server 340 gives the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 and permits access. In the case of failure in the verification, the authentication server 340 does not give the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 and rejects use of the service network 400 by the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the wireless communication system 1 may be combined with the examples of a connection process illustrated in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 .
  • the authentication server 340 may transmit an access confirmation request to both the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 and perform a verification process of the access right based on access confirmation responses of both.
  • the present embodiment is a form in which a payment terminal is involved in a process for the WLAN terminal 100 to connect to the WLAN 500 .
  • a wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 12 .
  • FIG. 12 is a view for explaining an overview of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 12 , compared to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 , the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment is different in that a payment terminal 610 is included.
  • the payment terminal 610 is a payment apparatus that has a function of making various payments. Typically, the payment terminal 610 performs near field wireless communication with a smartphone or the like to make an electronic payment. The payment terminal 610 may perform a payment process using its own payment function, or may perform a payment process via communication with another apparatus having a payment function (for example, a payment server 360 which will be described below).
  • a payment server 360 which will be described below.
  • the payment terminal 610 performs communication with the WWAN terminal 200 and performs a payment process according to a payment request from the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the payment terminal 610 performs a payment process for removing limitations on communication of the WLAN terminal 100 with the WLAN 500 according to a payment request from the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • this payment process is a payment procedure for a HotSpot connection charge and the like.
  • the WLAN terminal 100 connects to the WLAN 500 that requires payment of a connection charge and the like, payment using the WWAN terminal 200 is enabled, and thus user convenience is improved.
  • the payment terminal 610 may control transmission of pairing information of the WWAN terminal 200 to the authentication server 340 according to the success or failure of a payment process.
  • the payment terminal 610 may receive pairing information from the WWAN terminal 200 by means of near field communication or the like, and transmit the pairing information to the authentication server 340 when a payment process has succeeded.
  • transmission of the pairing information to the authentication server 340 is performed by the payment terminal 610 instead of the WWAN terminal 200 . This allows the WWAN terminal 200 to omit a process of transmitting the pairing information using a WWAN communication function and to consume less power.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 may not have the WWAN communication function, and in this case, the WWAN terminal 200 is provided to a user at a lower cost.
  • the payment terminal 610 may permit the WWAN terminal 200 to transmit the pairing information to the authentication server 340 .
  • the payment terminal 610 controls transmission of pairing information according to the success or failure of a payment process, a target from which communication limitations are removed becomes the WLAN terminal 100 which has been paired with the WWAN terminal 200 having succeeded in the payment process, and thus safety is further improved.
  • the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment has the same function and structure as the wireless communication system 1 according to each embodiment described above. Distinguishing configurations of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below. First, an overall configuration example of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
  • FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment.
  • structural elements illustrated in FIG. 3 are omitted except structural elements involved in the present embodiment, and new structural elements are added.
  • the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment has the payment server 360 and the payment terminal 610 as new structural elements.
  • the payment server 360 performs a payment process with the WWAN terminal 200 via the payment terminal 610 .
  • the payment server 360 establishes an encrypted communication path with the WWAN terminal 200 via the payment terminal 610 and then performs a payment process.
  • the payment server 360 may perform a payment process using subscriber identification information of the WWAN terminal 200 , or may perform an authentication process and a payment process associated with the payment server 360 .
  • the wireless communication unit 210 serves as a second wireless communication unit that transmits and receives various information for removing limitations on communication of the WLAN terminal 100 with the WLAN 500 to/from the payment terminal 610 .
  • the wireless communication unit 210 transmits a payment request to the payment terminal 610 .
  • the wireless communication unit 210 transmits pairing information to the payment terminal 610 .
  • a near field wireless communication scheme such as NFC, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi direct, WLAN, ZigBee, IrDA, or the like, may be used.
  • the control unit 240 has a function of controlling communication with the payment terminal 610 for removing limitations on communication of the WLAN terminal 100 with the WLAN 500 .
  • the control unit 240 controls the wireless communication unit 210 to transmit a payment request to the payment terminal 610 .
  • This allows the payment terminal 610 to perform a payment process for removing limitations on communication of the WLAN terminal 100 with the WLAN 500 .
  • the payment request includes information for a payment process, for example, the amount of payment, a payment destination, and the like.
  • the control unit 240 may control the wireless communication unit 210 to transmit pairing information. Accordingly, when the payment process succeeds, pairing information is transmitted to the authentication server 340 via the payment terminal 610 . Therefore, when a user finishes payment using the WWAN terminal 200 , communication limitations on the WLAN terminal 100 are removed, and thus user convenience is improved.
  • FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a logical configuration of the payment terminal 610 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 14 , the payment terminal 610 has a communication unit 611 , a memory unit 612 , and a control unit 613 .
  • the communication unit 611 is a communication module that transmits and receives data to/from an external device.
  • the communication unit 611 can perform wireless communication using various wired/wireless communication schemes.
  • the communication unit 611 according to the present embodiment serves as a first communication unit that communicates with the WWAN terminal 200 having identification information of subscribers to the WWAN 300 .
  • the communication unit 611 receives a payment request and pairing information from the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the communication unit 611 according to the present embodiment serves as a second communication unit that communicates with the authentication server 340 determining whether or not to remove limitations on communication of the WLAN terminal 100 with the WLAN 500 . For example, when a payment process succeeds, the communication unit 611 transmits pairing information to the authentication server 340 .
  • the memory unit 612 is a portion that performs recording and reproduction of data on a predetermined recording medium.
  • the memory unit 612 stores information received from the WWAN terminal 200 by the communication unit 611 .
  • the memory unit 612 stores pairing information received from the WWAN terminal 200 .
  • the memory unit 612 may store the received pairing information until the payment process succeeds and destroy the stored pairing information after the payment process succeeds and then the stored pairing information is transmitted to the authentication server 340 .
  • the control unit 613 serves as an arithmetic processor and a controller, and controls the overall operation in the payment terminal 610 according to various programs.
  • control unit 613 has a function of performing the payment process based on the payment request received from the WWAN terminal 200 by the communication unit 611 .
  • the payment terminal 610 may perform the payment process using its own payment function, or may perform the payment process via communication with the payment server 360 having a payment function.
  • control unit 613 has a function of controlling the communication unit 611 to transmit the pairing information received from the WWAN terminal 200 by the communication unit 611 to the authentication server 340 .
  • control unit 613 may control the communication unit 611 to transmit the pairing information to the authentication server 340 when the payment process succeeds and not to transmit the pairing information when the payment process fails.
  • a target from which communication limitations are removed by the authentication server 340 becomes the WLAN terminal 100 which has been paired with the WWAN terminal 200 having succeeded in the payment process, and thus safety is further improved.
  • a configuration example of the wireless communication system 1 has been described above. Subsequently, an operation process of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 15 .
  • FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a connection process executed in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 15 , the present sequence involves the payment terminal 610 , the WWAN terminal 200 , the WLAN terminal 100 , the base station 510 , and the authentication server 340 .
  • step S 502 the WWAN terminal 200 transmits device information to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • step S 504 the WLAN terminal 100 and the WWAN terminal 200 establish pairing.
  • step S 506 the WWAN terminal 200 transmits a payment request and pairing information to the payment terminal 610 .
  • the WWAN terminal 200 may transmit the payment request first, and transmit the pairing information after a payment process of the payment terminal 610 succeeds.
  • step S 508 the payment terminal 610 performs a payment process.
  • the payment terminal 610 performs a payment process via communication with the payment server 360 .
  • An operation in the case where the payment process has succeeded will be described below.
  • step S 510 the payment terminal 610 transmits the pairing information which has been received from the WWAN terminal 200 in step S 506 above to the authentication server 340 .
  • the WWAN terminal 200 transmits a policy to the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • the policy can at least include access information and information indicating an order of priority regarding the base station 510 .
  • step S 514 the WLAN terminal 100 performs authentication to the WLAN 500 by means of an EAP authentication process.
  • step S 516 the WLAN terminal 100 executes IP address allocation with the base station 510 to acquire an IP address.
  • step S 518 the WLAN terminal 100 transmits pairing information to the authentication server 340 via the base station 510 .
  • step S 520 the authentication server 340 performs a verification process of the access right.
  • step S 522 the authentication server 340 gives the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 and permits access. In the case of failure in the verification, the authentication server 340 does not give the access right to the WLAN terminal 100 and rejects use of the service network 400 by the WLAN terminal 100 .
  • connection process An example of a connection process according to the present embodiment has been described above.
  • the WWAN terminal 200 may transmit the pairing information to the authentication server 340 not via the payment terminal 610 .
  • the WWAN terminal 200 omits transmission of the pairing information in step S 506 .
  • the WWAN terminal 200 may transmit the pairing information to the authentication server 340 via the base station 310 as a result of success in the payment process in step S 508 above.
  • the pairing information does not go through the payment terminal 610 , and thus safety is further improved.
  • the wireless communication apparatus 100 and the wireless communication apparatus 200 may be implemented as a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet-type personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, or a digital camera, a fixed-type terminal such as a television receiver set, a printer, a digital scanner, or a network storage, or an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation apparatus.
  • a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet-type personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, or a digital camera
  • a fixed-type terminal such as a television receiver set, a printer, a digital scanner, or a network storage
  • an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation apparatus.
  • the wireless communication apparatus 100 and the wireless communication apparatus 200 may be implemented as a terminal which performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (which is also referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) terminal) such as a smart meter, a vending machine, a remote monitoring apparatus, or a point-of-sale (POS) terminal.
  • M2M machine-to-machine
  • MTC machine-type communication
  • POS point-of-sale
  • the wireless communication apparatus 100 and the wireless communication apparatus 200 may be a wireless communication module (for example, an integrated circuit module configured in one die) mounted in these terminals.
  • FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 900 to which the technology of the present disclosure may be applied.
  • the smartphone 900 includes a processor 901 , a memory 902 , a storage 903 , an external connection interface 904 , a camera 906 , a sensor 907 , a microphone 908 , an input device 909 , a display device 910 , a speaker 911 , a wireless communication interface 913 , an antenna switch 914 , an antenna 915 , a bus 917 , a battery 918 , and an auxiliary controller 919 .
  • the processor 901 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or a system on a chip (SoC), and controls functions of an application layer and another layer of the smartphone 900 .
  • the memory 902 includes a random access memory (RAM) and a read only memory (ROM), and stores a program that is executed by the processor 901 , and data.
  • the storage 903 may include a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk.
  • the external connection interface 904 is an interface for connecting an external device such as a memory card or a universal serial bus (USB) device to the smartphone 900 .
  • the camera 906 includes an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and generates a captured image.
  • the sensor 907 may include a group of sensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor.
  • the microphone 908 converts sounds that are input to the smartphone 900 to audio signals.
  • the input device 909 includes, for example, a touch sensor configured to detect touch onto a screen of the display device 910 , a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or a switch, and receives an operation or an information input from a user.
  • the display device 910 includes a screen such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, and displays an output image of the smartphone 900 .
  • the speaker 911 converts audio signals that are output from the smartphone 900 to sounds.
  • the wireless communication interface 913 supports one or more of wireless LAN standards such as IEEE 802.11a, 11b, 11g, 11n, 11ac, and 11ad to execute wireless communication.
  • the wireless communication interface 913 can communicate with another apparatus via a wireless LAN access point in an infrastructure mode.
  • the wireless communication interface 913 can directly communicate with another apparatus in an ad hoc mode or a direct communication mode such as Wi-Fi direct (registered trademark), or the like.
  • Wi-Fi Direct unlike the ad-hoc mode, one of two terminals operates as an access point, but communication is performed directly between the terminals.
  • the wireless communication interface 913 can typically include a baseband processor, a radio frequency (RF) circuit, and a power amplifier.
  • RF radio frequency
  • the wireless communication interface 913 may be a one-chip module in which a memory which stores a communication control program, a processor which executes the program and a relevant circuit are integrated.
  • the wireless communication interface 913 may support other kinds of wireless communication schemes such as a near field wireless communication scheme, a proximity wireless communication scheme or a cellular communication scheme in addition to the wireless LAN scheme.
  • the antenna switch 914 switches connection destinations of the antenna 915 between a plurality of circuits (for example, circuits for different wireless communication schemes) included in the wireless communication interface 913 .
  • the antenna 915 has a single or a plurality of antenna elements (for example, a plurality of antenna elements which constitute a MIMO antenna), which are used by the wireless communication interface 913 for transmission and reception of radio signals.
  • the smartphone 900 is not limited to the example of FIG. 16 and may include a plurality of antennas (for example, an antenna for a wireless LAN, or an antenna for the proximity wireless communication scheme, etc.). In that case, the antenna switch 914 may be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 900 .
  • the bus 917 connects the processor 901 , the memory 902 , the storage 903 , the external connection interface 904 , the camera 906 , the sensor 907 , the microphone 908 , the input device 909 , the display device 910 , the speaker 911 , the wireless communication interface 913 , and the auxiliary controller 919 to each other.
  • the battery 918 supplies power to blocks of the smartphone 900 illustrated in FIG. 16 via feeder lines, which are partially shown as dashed lines in the figure.
  • the auxiliary controller 919 operates a minimum necessary function of the smartphone 900 , for example, in a sleep mode.
  • the smartphone 900 illustrated in FIG. 16 may operate as the wireless communication apparatus 100 .
  • the wireless communication unit 110 , the memory unit 120 , and the control unit 130 described with reference to FIG. 4 may be implemented by the wireless communication interface 913 .
  • at least some of these functions may be implemented by the processor 901 or the auxiliary controller 919 .
  • the smartphone 900 illustrated in FIG. 16 may operate as the wireless communication apparatus 200 .
  • the wireless communication unit 210 , the memory unit 220 , the subscriber identification module 230 , and the control unit 240 described with reference to FIG. 5 may be implemented by the wireless communication interface 913 .
  • at least some of these functions may be implemented by the processor 901 or the auxiliary controller 919 .
  • the smartphone 900 may operate as a wireless access point (software AP) by executing an access point function at an application level through the processor 901 . Further, the wireless communication interface 913 may have a wireless access point function.
  • FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation apparatus 920 to which the technology of the present disclosure may be applied.
  • the car navigation apparatus 920 includes a processor 921 , a memory 922 , a global positioning system (GPS) module 924 , a sensor 925 , a data interface 926 , a content player 927 , a storage medium interface 928 , an input device 929 , a display device 930 , a speaker 931 , a wireless communication interface 933 , an antenna switch 934 , an antenna 935 , and a battery 938 .
  • GPS global positioning system
  • the processor 921 may be, for example, a CPU or a SoC, and controls a navigation function and another function of the car navigation apparatus 920 .
  • the memory 922 includes RAM and ROM, and stores a program that is executed by the processor 921 , and data.
  • the GPS module 924 uses GPS signals received from a GPS satellite to measure a position (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation apparatus 920 .
  • the sensor 925 may include a group of sensors such as a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and a barometric sensor.
  • the data interface 926 is connected to, for example, an in-vehicle network 941 via a terminal that is not shown, and acquires data generated by the vehicle, such as vehicle speed data.
  • the content player 927 reproduces content stored in a storage medium (such as a CD and a DVD) that is inserted into the storage medium interface 928 .
  • the input device 929 includes, for example, a touch sensor configured to detect touch onto a screen of the display device 930 , a button, or a switch, and receives an operation or an information input from a user.
  • the display device 930 includes a screen such as a LCD or an OLED display, and displays an image of the navigation function or content that is reproduced.
  • the speaker 931 outputs sounds of the navigation function or the content that is reproduced.
  • the wireless communication interface 933 supports one or more of wireless LAN standards such as IEEE 802.11a, 11b, 11g, 11n, 11ac, and 11ad to execute wireless communication.
  • the wireless communication interface 933 can communicate with another apparatus via a wireless LAN access point in an infrastructure mode.
  • the wireless communication interface 933 can directly communicate with another apparatus in an ad hoc mode or a direct communication mode such as Wi-Fi Direct.
  • the wireless communication interface 933 can typically include a baseband processor, an RF circuit, and a power amplifier.
  • the wireless communication interface 933 may be a one-chip module in which a memory which stores a communication control program, a processor which executes the program and a relevant circuit are integrated.
  • the wireless communication interface 933 may support other kinds of wireless communication schemes such as a near field wireless communication scheme, a proximity wireless communication scheme or a cellular communication scheme in addition to the wireless LAN scheme.
  • the antenna switch 934 switches connection destinations of the antenna 935 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 933 .
  • the antenna 935 has a single or a plurality of antenna elements, which are used by the wireless communication interface 933 for transmission and reception of radio signals.
  • the car navigation apparatus 920 may include a plurality of antennas, not limited to the example of FIG. 17 . In that case, the antenna switches 934 may be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation apparatus 920 .
  • the battery 938 supplies power to blocks of the car navigation apparatus 920 illustrated in FIG. 17 via feeder lines that are partially shown as dashed lines in the figure.
  • the battery 938 accumulates power supplied form the vehicle.
  • the car navigation apparatus 920 illustrated in FIG. 17 may operate as the wireless communication apparatus 100 .
  • the wireless communication unit 110 , the memory unit 120 , and the control unit 130 described with reference to FIG. 4 may be implemented by the wireless communication interface 933 .
  • at least some of these functions may be implemented by the processor 921 .
  • the car navigation apparatus 920 illustrated in FIG. 17 may operate as the wireless communication apparatus 200 .
  • the wireless communication unit 210 , the memory unit 220 , the subscriber identification module 230 , and the control unit 240 described with reference to FIG. 5 may be implemented by the wireless communication interface 933 .
  • at least some of these functions may be implemented by the processor 921 .
  • the technology of the present disclosure may also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or a vehicle) 940 including one or more blocks of the car navigation apparatus 920 , the in-vehicle network 941 , and a vehicle module 942 .
  • the vehicle module 942 generates vehicle data such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and trouble information, and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 941 .
  • the WLAN terminal 100 can connect to the Internet more safely.
  • the communication service provider can specify a relationship between the WWAN terminal 200 and the WLAN terminal 100 by means of pairing information, it becomes possible to readily perform access management, limitation of the number of terminals, billing management, and the like, and to provide a precise service.
  • the authentication server 340 performs verification of the access right, but the present technology is not limited to the corresponding examples.
  • the verification of the access right can be performed by an arbitrary apparatus managed by a communication service provider.
  • each apparatus described in the present specification may be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.
  • Programs that compose such software may be stored in advance for example on a storage medium (non-transitory medium) provided inside or outside each apparatus.
  • a storage medium non-transitory medium
  • programs are written into a RAM (Random Access Memory) and executed by a processor such as a CPU.
  • present technology may also be configured as below.
  • a wireless communication apparatus including:
  • a first wireless communication unit configured to perform pairing and wireless communication with a wireless terminal that connects to a first network and performs wireless communication
  • a second wireless communication unit configured to connect to a second network and perform wireless communication
  • control unit configured to control the second wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication with the second network.
  • the wireless communication apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3),
  • the pairing information includes at least one of identification information for identifying the wireless terminal with which the pairing has been established and identification information for identifying the wireless communication apparatus, a link key generated when the pairing is established, and hash data generated based on the link key.
  • identification information is device address information used in the wireless communication between the wireless terminal and the first wireless communication unit.
  • control unit performs authentication to the second network by means of extensible authentication protocol (EAP) authentication using subscriber identification information of the wireless terminal.
  • EAP extensible authentication protocol
  • the wireless communication apparatus further including:
  • a memory unit configured to store the information on pairing with a wireless terminal with which pairing has been established in past
  • control unit selects the information on pairing with the wireless terminal, which has the subscriber identification information used for the EAP authentication, from the memory unit as a target of transmission by the second wireless communication unit.
  • control unit encrypts the pairing information.
  • the wireless communication apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8),
  • control unit controls the second wireless communication unit to transmit type information indicating a type of the wireless communication apparatus.
  • control unit generates response information indicating whether or not pairing with a wireless terminal indicated by a confirmation request received by the second wireless communication unit has been established and causes the second wireless communication unit to return the response information.
  • control unit generates the response information based on whether or not wireless connection with the wireless terminal indicated by the confirmation request succeeds.
  • the wireless communication apparatus according to any one of (1) to (11),
  • the first network is a mobile communication network.
  • the wireless communication apparatus according to any one of (1) to (12),
  • the second network is a public wireless LAN.
  • a wireless communication apparatus including:
  • a first wireless communication unit configured to connect to a first network and perform wireless communication
  • a second wireless communication unit configured to perform pairing and wireless communication with a wireless terminal that connects to a second network and performs wireless communication
  • control unit configured to control the first wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication of the wireless terminal with the second network.
  • the wireless communication apparatus further including:
  • a storage unit configured to store identification information of subscribers to the first network
  • control unit controls the first wireless communication unit to transmit the pairing information when EAP authentication to the second network by the wireless terminal using the subscriber identification information stored in the storage unit succeeds.
  • control unit controls the second wireless communication unit to transmit a payment request to a payment apparatus in order to remove the limitations on communication of the wireless terminal with the second network.
  • control unit controls the second wireless communication unit to transmit the pairing information to the payment apparatus in order to remove the limitations on communication of the wireless terminal with the second network.
  • a server including:
  • a communication unit configured to perform communication with a first wireless terminal that connects to a first network and performs wireless communication and a second wireless terminal that connects to a second network and performs wireless communication;
  • control unit configured to determine whether or not to remove limitations on communication of the second wireless terminal with the second network based on whether or not first pairing information received from the first wireless terminal by the communication unit and second pairing information received from the second wireless terminal by the communication unit coincide.
  • a payment apparatus including:
  • a first communication unit configured to perform communication with a first wireless terminal having identification information of subscribers to a first network
  • a second communication unit configured to perform communication with a server that determines whether or not to remove limitations on communication of a second wireless terminal with a second network
  • control unit configured to perform a payment process based on a payment request received by the first communication unit
  • control unit controls the second communication unit to transmit pairing information received by the first communication unit to the server.
  • a wireless communication method including:
  • controlling the second wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication with the second network.
  • a wireless communication method including:
  • controlling the first wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication of the wireless terminal with the second network.
  • a first wireless communication unit configured to perform pairing and wireless communication with a wireless terminal that connects to a first network and performs wireless communication
  • a second wireless communication unit configured to connect to a second network and perform wireless communication
  • control unit configured to control the second wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication with the second network.
  • a first wireless communication unit configured to connect to a first network and perform wireless communication
  • a second wireless communication unit configured to perform pairing and wireless communication with a wireless terminal that connects to a second network and performs wireless communication
  • control unit configured to control the first wireless communication unit to transmit information on pairing with the wireless terminal in order to remove limitations on communication of the wireless terminal with the second network.
US15/505,139 2014-08-29 2015-06-11 Wireless communication apparatus, server, payment apparatus, wireless communication method, and program Expired - Fee Related US10292187B2 (en)

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JP6665782B2 (ja) 2020-03-13
EP3197194B1 (en) 2020-10-21

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